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Dedication Ceremony for the Goddess of the Sea is at 6:00 p.m., Friday, June 1

Dedication Ceremony for the Goddess of the Sea is at 6:00 p.m., Friday, June 1, during the 2018 Sun Fun Festival.

The Goddess of the Sea, a 12 foot tall bronze sculpture by artist Kristen Visbal, resides in Plyler Park, 1000 North Ocean Boulevard. The lively statue features a mermaid and two leaping dolphins arising from a splash of water.

The Goddess of the Sea celebrates Myrtle Beach’s exciting, majestic and playful ocean-side spirit.  It represents a major public art installation for the city and is destined to become an iconic landmark for residents and visitors. 

The 1,800 pound bronze piece is the Public Art Initiative’s inaugural project.  The PAI is an adjunct to the Downtown Redevelopment Corporation, with a goal of establishing an aesthetic environment in downtown Myrtle Beach and developing a public art program for the city.

Kristen Visbal, the artist, was born in Uruguay and educated in the United States, graduating with a bachelor of arts from Salisbury State University in Maryland.  For three years, she apprenticed in lost wax fine art casting at Johnson Atelier Foundry in Mercerville, New Jersey.  In 1998, she started Visbal Fine Bronze Sculpture in Lewes, Delaware. 

Visbal is no stranger to the Grand Strand.  She was a frequent participant of the former annual Brookgreen Gardens Sculpture Park Curator's Auction in Murrells Inlet.  Her work has been exhibited at the Lincoln Center, The Pen and Brush Club, the National Sculpture Society and the National Arts Club in New York City, among other galleries and exhibitions. 

Visbal’s most popular sculpture, “Fearless Girl,” stares down Wall Street's famous Charging Bull.  The statue depicts a young girl, confidently sculpted in bronze, with her hands on her waist and her head lifted high. The sculpture sends a message about gender equality and draws attention to the lack of women in leadership positions in the largest U.S. corporations.  Plyler Park is named for Justin Whitaker Plyler, an early visionary of Myrtle Beach.